“If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear.”
–George Orwell
The Historic Dupont Circle Main Streets (HDCMS) hosted the 26th annual D.C. High Heel Race in Dupont earlier this month. The event benefited the HDCMS, which promotes small independent business growth in the expanding D.C. neighborhood. An eyeball-estimated crowd of 5,000 to 10,000 attended the event.
Onlookers began arriving three hours before the race to cheer on the male participants, who donned two-inch heels, signed a waiver of liability, and most noticeably, wore drag. From the Hocus Pocus witches to The View’s hosts, the drag queens displayed a variety of characters while parading along 17th Street before the race to pose for photos. During the race, several participants “high-heel sprinted” while other queens waved daintily while walking behind the sprinters.
The drag queens are celebrities, and this race was their show.
Yes, men dressed as sensual women walked in high heels and chatted in dramatic voices. Yes, spectators praised this behavior, partially for their own entertainment. Drag queens received appreciation—even if at a superficial level—for whom they are as people, which is something we can learn from as conservatives.
As respectful citizens, we are called to love all our neighbors as ourselves. Christian conservatives often treat the gay community as a group threatening to marriage, family, and traditional values. We can at times overlook gays’ humanity, including their individuality as people with hearts who feel, hope, cry, and dream and who long to love and be loved.
We forget to hate the sin and love the sinner.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that homosexual acts are inconsistent with natural law because “[t]hey close the sexual act to the gift of life” and fail to demonstrate “genuine affective and sexual complementarity.” However, the Catechism also stresses that homosexuals “be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity” and “every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided.” In fact, the Catechism lists friendship as one of the factors to aid “homosexual persons” in reaching “Christian perfection.”
We must learn to love others different from ourselves to show them their beauty and potential as people. We don’t attract others to Christianity with hate. We don’t change others with negativity and abandonment. Rather, we win others to God and our political ideology by startling them with patience and kindness. We surprise others by accepting them and loving them unconditionally as God does, even though we may disagree with their actions.
Liberty doesn’t simply mean the right to tell others what they don’t want to hear. Liberty also means the duty to tell ourselves what we don’t want to hear: We must pull off our own high heels to heal hate and fear with love.
About Katie Yoder
